


A drop in the Water

by zealousAvenger



Series: The Grand Fall [1]
Category: League of Legends
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-12 19:18:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7119190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zealousAvenger/pseuds/zealousAvenger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'm very hesitant to post this as it is largely unfinished, but I decided to just go with it and see how it was accepted in its current form. It's important to note that relationships here are mentioned, but currently none have been acted on, so by extension, there isn't any smut just yet, or even relationships that exist outside of implication. Regardless, thank you for reading, I welcome any and all criticism, enjoy.</p>
    </blockquote>





	A drop in the Water

**Author's Note:**

> I'm very hesitant to post this as it is largely unfinished, but I decided to just go with it and see how it was accepted in its current form. It's important to note that relationships here are mentioned, but currently none have been acted on, so by extension, there isn't any smut just yet, or even relationships that exist outside of implication. Regardless, thank you for reading, I welcome any and all criticism, enjoy.

Demacia. The city of justice, an upstanding pillar of brilliance and valor that displays for the small land of Runeterra just what it means to have heart. There are literal books written about the might and bravery that any Demacian would show at the drop of the hat. It’s opposite, Noxus, is precisely that: Cruel, unforgiving, treacherous, evil... at least from the 'correct' perspective. All the other city states seem to fall into place, but more specifically, the line of fire as the the two ancient rivals fought out their bloody differences. In fact, one could even suggest that one simple event could throw the whole known world into a turmoil that ended society as was known at the time. All of this was running through the young prodigy’s mind as he waited in his distasteful casual clothes for the lady of the land to open her door.

Ezreal was a bright kid who knew his way around a bad situation and right now he was trying to think of just about any excuse that could get him out of his current problem. He had done exactly as Lux had instructed him in her letter, front door and everything, but she was still nowhere to be found. The only thing that kept him from leaving was the possibility that the girl had more in mind for the two of them than simple strategic plans and questions about how Piltover stood in regards to the current changing in the political climate of Runeterra. He knew it was a long shot hoping that she payed cared for more than his exploration based mind, but like many others, he was captivated by the lady's beauty and grace. Ezreal shook his head and sighed, just thinking about questions like that seemed to frustrate him more and more recently. When did he become an important political figure in the city he hardly ever visited, much less lived in. He was an explorer! By definition he left what he knew and went to go find something new and special. A clicking noise followed by creak that implied age shook him out of his musings, and as if nothing ill was thought he looked up and smiled before greeting the Crownguard, “Hey there, thank you for covering my transportation, it means a lot to receive an invitation from the Crowngua…” He locked eyes with the tired slouched figure that he was more familiar with than he ever wanted to be, “Garen? I thought, well, not really thought I suppose, so much as expected Lux to be the one to greet me.” Awkwardly he stood, figuratively in limbo, waiting for the other’s response.

Despite his usual bombastic patriotism, Garen had recently gone through some hard times and harsh realizations, namely that his “relationship” with the red rose of the Noxus was never going to come to fruition. Everything was kept hush hush so that the family would not lose face in the public eye, but his mother and father were very persuasive people and he soon found all he had worked for in the past five years felt empty, like his very heart had been torn from his chest. Betraying his emotions, the soldier was dressed nicely, although not in his armor. His naturally suave forefront and clever assistants helped project confidence and strength alongside wealth. He might have been outclassing the younger boy that stood in front of him, but he would personally vouch for the fact that he most definitely did not feel that way, “I understand why you would think that, I’m sorry, she was too consumed with her current session that I didn’t want to disturb her. I’m sure you know how she is when it comes to magic, it seemed that she was on the brink of something important, so I’ll just take you to where she is.” Ezreal nodded in compliance and after he had entered the main building of the estate, Garen shut the door quietly behind him. He lead the blonde boy through the mighty halls that he grew up in and stopped just outside of his sister’s room. Lightly, he knocked on the door, “Lux, your guest is here, if you need me, I’m sure you will be able to find me.” With that he simply nodded to Ezreal, offering a melancholy thumbs up before walking further into the depths of his home leaving the disoriented explorer hopelessly confused.

The whole time Ezreal wanted to let loose a barrage of questions, but in the end, he didn’t say a single thing to Garen the whole time the two were together. Something had happened to him and he really didn’t want to get too involved with all the drama that would come with it. Fortunately for him, Lux’s door opened soon after her beckoning and the introduction was much like he expected the first to be. She looked slightly disheveled, starkly contrasting her usual perfection but he assumed that was because of her magical pursuits. He greeted her with a smile and opened his mouth to speak, but he found himself to be an embarrassed mess that couldn’t quite find the words he was looking for. Lady of luminosity indeed, her apologetic smile was like the sun itself and as if revitalized, he finally managed to speak, “Hi there, I was uh… A bit surprised seeing Garen like that.” Lux’s smile faltered slightly as if he had delved into something he should have avoided at all costs and Ezreal put up his hands as if it would somehow make up for it.

He couldn’t tell what she was thinking but his own lament was cut of by her sweet voice, “I can understand why that would be shocking to see. Mother and father have both been adamant about keeping what happened in the family I’m afraid, so I can’t tell you just what happened.” She shook her head softly, “Anyways, on to what I invited you here for! I heard you have quite the knowledge on the terrain around the institute, and, as you well know, that middle ground will be crucial if, gods forbid, any further military action had to be taken against our rivals to the East.”

Ezreal nodded thoughtfully, it had turned out exactly as he feared, “I suppose that’s true, You wouldn’t happen to have a map of the region would you, I could better explain my expertise if I could show you.” He looked from his hands to her face. Speaking of looking, you are absolutely stunning. He stifled a chuckle, there was no way he was going to say that out loud, not yet at least. In response to his request, she nodded and led him back down the hall he had entered in, chattering on about the various paintings on the walls of numerous, dead, Crownguards. She knew it all, who died of illness, who died for the king, who died to restore honor, everything, all leading up to the large, vastly detailed War Room that sat under the massive painting of the very first Crownguard in Demacia. With a short rant, Lux finished speaking and gazed down at the tabletop map, awaiting his instruction. As a map maker, Ezreal was impressed at the detial in the map despite the age. There had been updates, but they really didn’t take away from the majesty that was in front of him. He took a deep breath and started his short lecture, “The Institute couldn’t be in a worse place for you Demacians. Having to cross a marsh to make it there, the Noxians would almost definitely beat you to it. However, this might be better for you. If war that transcends the institute breaks out, the mages will need to be taken care of regardless. This is where the Noxian advantage comes into play, they are eager to bathe their swords in violence and blood, so as they march for Demacia, they will most definitely try to siege the Institute. Now, the mages are nothing to take as given, so they could likely hold off for a good while, you’ll have to hope that is long enough to wear down the Noxian army enough to orchestrate a decisive victory.” He looked up to make sure she was still paying attention. And as he expected, she was not only still watching the map, but using her magical prowess to levitate a quill and paper alongside her, independently writing her thoughts. Ezreal continued, “Past the institute is tricky. There isn’t much water and for the most part it is rolling plains with short grasses. There used to be vast forests but they have for the most part been dismantled. If your unit is well equipped for the voyage your men should be able to make it to here.” He pointed at a contour line just outside of the Noxian heartland. “There is a sharp change of inclination here and some interesting cavern structure that your men can use for encampments, the only problem is that I have no idea if Noxus knows about these or not. Either way, it will be a struggle to mount a siege on their capital unless you can get support from other city states or something, I’m not a military forecaster though, I’m sure Jarvan would be more suited to that.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his brown jacket and watched as the quill traced its last few strokes.

With finality it stopped writing and almost immediately Lux’s head snapped up as she matched his gaze.“Ezreal, I really appreciate your coming all this way, and if you ever feel the inclination to join with the Demacian ranks, well, I’m sure Quinn would love some assistance!” She stood with her hands on her hips and she moved to the door, “Are you hungry at all, I know that it is a bit later than you are probably used to eating, but I just couldn’t wait to get that information, it feels like I’m running out of time.” As she turned Lux looked immensely distressed, like she had suddenly been cast out of her home and lost everything. Obviously, nothing of the sort had or was going to happen. The explorer told her little that the majority of Demacia didn't already know, and less that she couldn't think of herself. However, the bit he mentioned about the caves seemed to provide some curious insight into a new possibility at least. Internally, she sighed and realized she would need him to calm down or be more comfortable around her to get anything actually useful out of him.

The two walked silently for a short time as Ezreal tried to catch up with Lux, “Are you sure you can’t tell me what happened to your brother? It really seems like it is affecting you too.” He had no idea if that was the problem, but he really hated seeing her like this. More than just his stupid crush, it all felt wrong, ever since he had gotten on the carriage to come to the Demacian heartland Ezreal just hadn’t felt like things were going well. It was like walking out into the streets of Piltover just after rain, the air was saturated, there was some sort of resistance that was cutting into the usual electric personalities of the Demacians. He swallowed silently. With a smile that looked forced, Lux turned and opened the dining hall’s door, “I am absolutely positive that I can’t tell you. I’m sorry Ez, but sometimes you just can’t know everything.” It felt as though there was an implied ‘I’ve tried’ at the end of her statement but he was too disoriented to argue with her. He looked down slightly and entered the room, “I gotcha.” Lux didn’t follow him in and he sat all alone at a noticeably smaller table than he had expected. On the small, but luxurious table, there was a huge variety of foods and what he knew to be delicacies, only he couldn’t bring himself to eat any of it. In the end he forced himself to eat what little he could, then almost as if on cue a butler entered to guide him to his room.


End file.
